Black Courtyard
by RainbowJH
Summary: "Jealous much? Don't worry, Reggie-poo, I'll take those pictures down if it worries you so much." "Why would I be jealous - though, I do know you're partial to men in leather jackets." I had gestured to my own black leather jacket. "Hmm, that's true. That's why I love your brother so much."


**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of J.K .Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

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_**This was written for Round 1 of the Battlefield Wars- Team "After All This Time- Always". The headlining character is Regulus Black and assisting character is Lily Evans(romantic or platonic).**_

_**I'm using the remaining prompts:**_

_**2\. (word) Bluebells**_

_**3\. (word) Crystal**_

_**8\. (word) Witch**_

_**9\. (object) Wizarding Camera**_

_**10\. (word) Futile**_

_**11\. (quote) "Why would I be jealous - though, I do know you're partial to men in leather jackets." - Hook, Once Upon a Time**_

_**12\. (emotion) Angry**_

**_Words-1266_**

_**This was beta'ed by Sable Supernova. Thanks Laura, for all the help.**_

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Black Courtyard

_Lily's PoV_

I've always loved the smell of bluebells for as long as I can remember. Maybe because of the sweet smell which used to permeate from the kitchen window during spring or maybe because I associate it with home.

Hogwarts' greenhouses had many exotic plants and flowers. But Hogwarts never felt like home. The animated portraits, the moving staircases, the cold seeping in my bones from the stones of the castle- all of this was so different from the warmth of my home back in the muggle world.

I started studying outdoors so that I could dig my feet in the soft dewy grass, like I used to do at my home. This led me to explore the grounds and the castle. I came across many courtyards.

There was one beneath the kitchens, which is exactly under the Great Hall. As it is well-known, there are many levels to the dungeons of Hogwarts. Remarkably, I came across the courtyard by pure chance.

One day, I was walking after the potions class, reading a particularly interesting book. I had been so lost in the book, I didn't realize that I'd walked deeper in the long labyrinth stretching across the dungeons. I remember, I had caught the faint sweet fragrance of bluebells, making me look around for its source.

The place where I'd stopped was where the scent was strongest. I tried to tickle the wall, kick it, knock it, tap it with my wand, also tried to walk straight through it! Nothing worked. In my frustration, I sweared. The wall faded away before my eyes, like mist clearing, forming an archway. It was there I had found my place- filled with bluebells as far as the eye could see. For the next week or so, I happily continued to visit the place calling it my own.

Pretty soon, though, I found it was not just my secret place. Another student too visited it - a Slytherin in the same year as myself - Regulus Black.

First time he came upon me in the courtyard, he had been angry.

I hadn't known from a distance that he was in Slytherin. Instead of the robes, he had been wearing a leather jacket and jeans. I had been admiring the view in front of me when I was broken out of my happy bubble. He'd of course recognized me by my scarlet hair and the tell-tale Gryffindor robes.

Seeing me in his supposed secret place, he had become more so. He had called me a mudblood, demanding I leave at once.

Of course, I'd stood my ground.

"There is no such thing as mudblood or pureblood. Either you have magic or you don't have magic. I am a witch. You have no right to call me that word." Of course, I'd been introduced to the word by the senior students of Slytherin.

I had then ignored him. Even as he'd complained and screamed at me. I lost track of how many times he said that I was sullying the courtyard. It got unoriginal.

Once he had said, the Black courtyard instead of just courtyard. At that point, I had interrupted him.

"Wait a minute. This is school property. This is not your courtyard."

The smug bastard suddenly transformed to the cold Slytherin person he portrayed in class. He had smirked, knowing that he knew something I didn't. I wanted to punch him, just to wipe that look off his face.

Just for a moment, I thought he was not going to answer. After all, to him, I was just a mudblood.

"Actually, this is known a Black Courtyard," boasted Regulus. "It has been since Founder's time. Like the Chamber of Secrets, it's supposed to be a myth. Only the Blacks who are sorted in Slytherin are told of this place through word of mouth. Not that a mudblood like you would know anything about it."

I was infuriated. This was so unfair. I don't even know what he was babbling about chamber of secrets something. There was no introductory course offered at Hogwarts for muggle-raised children.

"Anyways, I'm gonna be a visitor here. Do whatever the hell you want." I was really pissed off.

I took a deep breath and picked up my book, as I sat cross-legged on the grass under the shade of the castle.

A few months passed this way. We got used to work silently at a distance. I did try to engage Regulus in conversation. However, the only things he had to say were insults. Over time I had learned to judge his mood by his tells. Like he would tap his quill incessantly when he was angry or irritated and he would tap his feet to some wizarding song when he was happy. But even in those happy moods, my attempts at conversation remained futile.

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_Regulus PoV_

Just as Lily and I were leaving for our date, Mrs. Evans had stopped us.

"I almost forgot. Wait a minute," explained she, as she hurried in through the door.

This had been my first visit to muggle household. My mother would surely kill me if she found out. It had been an unforgettable experience to say the least. I had experienced a paradigm shift in a matter of an hour.

Mrs. Evans rushed back in the room with a Wizarding camera in her hand.

"Pose. Come on, get closer. Don't be shy. This is your first date. I want a good picture. Who knows maybe you'll show your children the picture of the day you went on your first date together."

I was pretty sure my face went the colour of Lily's hair.

I kept my arm around her shoulder and she kept hers around my waist. I was particularly aware of the feeling of her body so close to me. Just as Mrs. Evans clicked a pic, we had looked at each other smiling. Later, we had developed that photo in a crystal-studded frame which we proudly placed on the mantelpiece of our first home.

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Once, I had caught sight of some photos in her room. They were of muggle men with some musical instruments in their hands and they had some pretty weird hairstyles. One thing I recognized was they were all wearing leather. One of them was bare-chested, wearing only leather pants.

I had asked Lily, "Who are those men?"

Lily had looked at the picture I had indicated and said, "They are rockstars. I love their band."

I kept staring, wondering if you had to have half shaved tatooed head to be a rockstar.

Lily had playfully commented, batting her eyelashes, "Jealous much? Don't worry, Reggie-poo, I'll take those pictures down if it worries you so much."

"Why would I be jealous - though, I do know you're partial to men in leather jackets." I had gestured to my own black leather jacket.

"Hmm, that's true. That's why I love your brother so much."

I had said, as I drew her closer, "You're mine, witch. It seems I have to do something that reminds you that, don't I?"

I had then bent down on my knee, keeping my hands on her waist, "Lily Rose Evans, will you marry me?"

Taking out a small velvet blue box, holding the crystal-studded ring, which I had carried around with me for months; I looked up at her hopefully.

"Of course, I will." She'd then knocked us both down on the bed as she proceeded to justify her answer. The ring box laid forgotten aside. And the rest is, as they say, history.

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**I hope you like this. Read and review. I've written half of the accompanying piece of their first date. If I do get a good response, I'll be prompted to complete it and post it here.**

**Till then, take care.**

**UPDATE: I got 48/50 for this story.**


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